A currency researcher says that President Jacob Zuma as overseen the worst performance of the rand out of all prior leaders in the country.<\/p>\n
Dwaine van Vuuren, head of research and product development at Sharenet, told Talk 702 <\/a>that under his watch, the local currency has weakened 71% against the dollar.<\/p>\n Sharenet’s research said that president Zuma has only had to contend with 6% of his term under recession, adding that the rand could weaken far more before the president’s second term comes to an end in 2019.<\/p>\n In the afternoon session on Thursday, the rand traded at R14.23 against the greenback.<\/p>\n “Under the current administration, the rand exchange rate has risen 8.6% per annum compound. Using this as a projection, we can forecast R18.50 to the dollar by the time this\u00a0second presidential term expires,” Sharenet said.<\/p>\n Van Vuuren said that R20 to the dollar is quite within site. \u201cThe commodities boom is over. Hot money is flowing out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Analysts expect the rand to push through R15 against the dollar before the end of the week amid a flurry of US data, expected on Friday, including jobs data and a decision on interest rates.<\/p>\n Using the rand’s performance against the buck since 2010, Cees Bruggemans, consultant economist at Bruggemans & Associates, said in a note in August that by mid-2018, the rand could be at R22.50 to the dollar.<\/p>\n R15 to the US dollar is coming<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n R22.50 to the dollar by 2018?<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The rand hits a new a high against the dollar<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on the rand<\/h3>\n